fshafly2

DougMD
- hi fellow Marylander. Rehashing much of what's been posted - it's all in the body language and rhythm, if a turkey is coming to you, it's a cluck; if it's leaving, then it's an alarm putt, lol. I've tried to spook turkeys away by (my rendition of) "alarm putts" alone and have not succeeded. Putting will cause a turkey to go on "high alert" and look for the announced danger - I think that the alerted bird will not want to blunder into the unseen danger and will try to locate it first. Try mixing in some yelps or (better imho) purrs with your clucks if you are nervous about making putts - they'll help keep a bird relaxed and a relaxed bird may be more likely to move and try to locate you.
- Several times I've had a bird (jakes & hens) get alarmed at me while I've been working a gob and start alarm putting. The high degree of stress in the alarm putt is clearly different from the "questioning - where are you" cluck, once you've heard them both. If a nearby bird alarm putts at me, I just start cutting over the alarm putts w/a diaphram to drown out the putts, and I've had the alarmed bird calm down - sometimes the gob I'm working will immediately march right in...
-fsh

Bobgobble2

Intensity dictated by the situation is what clearly tells you what most all turkey talk is meaning!Learning to understand it and adjusting to it can take years of experience afield!This in my mind is what seperates the real turkeycaller/hunter from the novice!

jrbsr

This might help.

1. Cluck- Say, "plock" sharply.
Note the "p" is formed with your lips when you do this.

2. Yelp- Say, "cholk, cholk, cholk"
while trying different mouth positions and rhythms.

3. Cutting- Say, "pot, pot, pot". The lips come together for each cut.

4. Purr- Vibrate your vocal cords, similar to gargling.
Vibrate your lips or flutter your tongue.
The air comes across the reeds producing a very soft. controlled vibration.

5. Cackling- Say, "kit, kit, cat cat cat cat, cholk cholk cholk".
This call is easily achieved when the jaw is used to set the tempo and rhythm.

6. Kee Kee- Say, "pee pee pee".
Make a high note, starting and stopping the flow of air with your lips.

7. Kee Kee Run- Say, "pee pee, cholk". Proper fit is important. If necessary trim the outer tape to fit comfortably in your mouth.

Im not to sure about # 3 it kinda sounds like a put put sound.


This is on the back of the primos package.

DougMD

Guys, thanks a lot for all the great advice! I'm printing this thread off and will be practicing until the season comes in. Unfortunately, it will mostly be in the car or when my wife is out running errands. She doesn't take much to calling in the house!

snowdog2

If I can add my 2 cents at this late time . . . I used to think an alarm putt and a cluck sounded almost the same, too, until my father spooked a hen that was walking around in front of our blind with movement. To me, an alarm putt is quite sharp, sounds like you or I might sound if we were alarmed and said "Watch out!!" in an alarming manner. There's no doubt about the tone of your voice if you are seriously alarmed and vocalizing a warning. You use a certain degree of urgency, probably speak in a louder, higher pitch. Same for a turkey. The alarm putt is excited, alarming.

In contrast, a cluck is soft, not excited, not urgent or scary.

Sometimes, in the woods, I've heard what I call a cluck that sounds, to me, more like a "poing!" It has a musical quality to it, almost like a bird singing, except it is not a songbird, its a turkey.

As far as cutting goes, I've rarely heard any callers accurately emulate what I think is true cutting. I've heard cutting in the woods, and believe me, when you hear it, you can't forget it. In fact, in all the calling contests I've seen or been at, I've only heard one caller ever come close to or sound like a hen cutting. Cutting is loud, harsh, and has a dual tonality to it that I can't describe (nor imitate) well, but if you ever hear genuine cutting in the woods, you'll know it. (I think of it, sometimes, as like saying "flang, flang, flang.") In some aspects, it is like a harsh bark, but that doesn't fairly describe the overall quality of the sound, either. To me, most callers trying to cutt are actually just "harshening" their cluck, with a bit more volume and faster cadence, but when you hear a hen cutt in the woods, there is a "metallic" quality to the call that, again, I cannot adequately describe.